"If I could offer just one tip for your future, it would be to take
advantage of compounding. The long-term benefits are undeniable. . . .

Compound interest has the most impact when it is applied early and
consistently, so even when you can’t afford to save, find a way to sock a little
bit away. If you don’t miss that money now, you won’t be able to ignore it years
from now, when it is the basis for your ability to live comfortably in
retirement.

Don’t worry too much about the future, because worrying isn’t going
to make it any better. But do envision the future you, the 50- and
65-and-older versions who will show up someday and ask “What the heck have you
been doing with my money for all these years?”

Have something worthwhile to say to them, and know that the place where you
will find the answer is in that space where you balance the pain of savings with
the value of having fun spending your money now.

Money is not your goal, a fulfilling life is.You’ve heard
that money won’t buy happiness — and you will find that out for yourselves in
time — but it does give you choices and opportunities, and having more of those
will, in time, give you comfort and peace of mind.

Stay focused on that inner happiness and not on the dollar amount. . . .

Don’t be the richest guy in the cemetery, be the one known for living a
rewarding life.

Don’t be reckless with your money. Don’t put up with people
who are.

Money problems destroy relationships, break up families and more. Take care
of your money and, ultimately, you go a long way towards taking care of your
family. If you’re acting sensibly around money and have it in the proper
perspective, don’t let someone else change that; don’t think of it like they’re
messing with your money, think of it like they are messing with your family. . . .

Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.

If you are like most high school and college graduates, you are woefully
unprepared for managing your financial life on your own, which makes you pretty
much like everyone who has come before you. That’s a sad statement on the
quality of financial education, and not an indictment of you.

While it would be terrific if you can avoid the spending, saving and
investing blunders that most people seem to have somewhere in their past, it’s
also unlikely. When it comes to life and investing, success involves moving from
one mistake to the next without losing your enthusiasm.

Don’t lose your idealism.One of the signs of money maturity
is the ability to give some of it away. When you get to graduation, you are full
of promise, not yet jaded by the many slings and arrows the real world is about
to shoot at you. It’s easy to forget those ideals in the daily grind. Don’t let
that happen; find the causes you want to support and be charitable.

Investing is not a competition.

The point is not to beat someone else, but to have enough to be comfortable
and reach your goals. In the connected, social world we live in , you will hear
a lot of people talking about how great they are at investing and how much money
they have made, the risks they have conquered and more. Most of it will be
horse-puckey.

It’s hard enough to do this stuff on your own; don’t waste time focusing on
whether someone else is doing better or if you could have somehow squeezed just
a little bit more out of a strategy that has been working for you. Doing those
things only leads to mistakes, and while I have just told you not to be afraid
of making blunders, don’t raise your hand and volunteer for duty on the
Worldwide Congress of Stupid Investors.

Remember that what the market is doing today is not
important.What it is doing over the next few decades or the rest of
your life is.

The more you focus on what the market is doing at any given moment, the more
you feel a need to “do something,” and it’s usually something that will hurt you
over that longer, more meaningful picture.

Most adults spend too much time worrying about money; don’t do that. ... And
if you can succeed in this, tell me how you did it. Giving the lessons and
living them are two different things, and even the “experts” (a term I am loath
to apply to myself) don’t get it right all the time."

Summing UpWords for all of us to live by, no matter our age.And words of advice worthwhile to pass on to the younger among us. That's for sure.Thanks. Bob.

1 comment:

Bob, This was Great! It has been copied and will be given to my entire family! Most of my grandchildren are at that age now that I try to pass on "words of wisdom", and I find that the written words (which they are currently absorbing)are most inducible. Keep up the good work! Kay Wilson